Methods for dyeing pile fabrics and colored fabrics obtained thereby



United States Patent 3,464,779 METHODS FOR DYElNG PILE FABRICS AND COLORED FABRICS OBTAINED THEREBY Louis Collez, Saint-Die, France, assignor to Societe Anonyme Peltex, Saint-Die, Vosges, France No Drawing. Filed Mar. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 532,075 Claims priority, application France, Mar. 10, 1965,

8,682 Int. Cl. D06p /02, 5/12 US. Cl. 8-14 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention has for its object the dyeing of pile fabrics, chiefly of imitation fur fabrics, the pile of which is constituted by synthetic or artificial fibres.

Numerous methods for dyeing fabrics resorting to various types of dyestuffs are known and among them a method operating with a dispersion of a dyestufi? of the so-called dispersed type applicable to fabrics made of artificial or synthetic fibres, said method consisting in laying on the fabric the dispersed dyestuif through the socalled foulardage dyeing process according to which the fabric is dipped in a dyeing bath and then drained after which impregnation a heat treatment ensures the penetration of the dyestuif into the fabric. After said heat treatment, a protracted washing is executed in the presence of a tensio-active reagent with a view to removing the dyestutf which has not been fixed. It is also known that said methods cannot be used for printing purposes by reason of the so-called sublimation phenomenon which causes the dyestuff to migrate and forms a halation around the printed spot.

A series of searches have led applicant to fine that the various dispersed dyestuffs do not show the same speed of migration or diffusion, which speed varies according to the type and color of the dyestulf and is a function of the temperature reached, and consequently the distance of diffusion depends on the duration of the heat treatment. However, said diffusion distance is not proportional to time and it has a tendency to be stabilized at a maximum value which Will be termed hereinafter the maximum diffusion. Furthermore, it has been found that in the case of pile fabrics and imitation furs wherein the fibres are spaced apart from one another and are not entangled as in the case of threads and of woven fabrics, the migration of the dyestutf is executed along unitary fibres. It has also been found that the migration may be complete in as much as a fraction of the fibres on which the dyestuif has been applied loses its dye and the intensity of the migration is gradual; in other words the intensity of coloration along the fibre starting from the point of application of the dyestuff is shaded off.

The present invention has for its object to resort to this dyestulf subliming or diffusing phenomenon with a view to providing novel colored effects on pile fabrics and to obtaining, chiefly in the case of imitation fur, a coloration which varies throughout the depth of the pile, that is along the different fibres forming the pile so as to imitate certain effects of natural furs.

The present invention covers thus a method which consists in coloring a pile fabric and chiefly an imitation fur of which the pile is made of artificial or synthetic fibres, said coloring being obtained by applying in a uniform manner or otherwise on the ends of the fibres forming the pile a dispersed dyestuif and by subjecting the fabric to a heating at a temperature and for a duration which depend on the speed of migration or so-called sublimation speed of the dyestuif resorted to with a view to obtaining a coloration shaded olf throughout the depth of the pile.

Said method is applicable with a single dyestulf and, in such a case, only the shading off phenomenon is resorted to which is ascribable to the diffusion and, if desired, the complete migration of the dyestuif.

Among the artificial fibres which are liable to be used for the execution of the pile and which show the diffusion phenomenon, it is possible to mention the following fibres: polyesters, polyacrylonitriles, polyamides, acetate and triacetate of cellulose, a number of vinylic and acrylic copolymers and generally speaking all the fibers which can be dyed by a dry method at a high temperature.

According to a development of said method, it is possible to use as a dyestulf a mixture of compatible dyestuffs and the speeds of migration and the maximum diffusion ranges of which are different.

In such a case, the dyestutf which shows both the highest speed of migration and the highest maximum diffusion appears at a point furthest from the point of application of the dyestuif; in other words, it enters more deeply inside the pile of the imitation fur and, when points nearer and nearer the ends of the fibres are considered, there is found a mixture of two and then of three dyestuffs and so on until a mixture of all the basic dystulfs is found at the tips of the fibres, while possibly one or more dyestulfs which have migrated completely off the point of application of the dyestuif are no longer present at said point of application.

The intensity of coloration being thus shaded off as a consequence of diffusion, the passage of one hue to another is quite gradual.

The dyestuff may be applied in a wet phase by means of a brush or of a gun or else in a dry phase by sprinkling over the free ends of the pile fibres of the fabric. It may be executed throughout the fabric so as to obtain a uniform effect over its entire surface or else it may be executed by printing within a frame, by printing in a wet phase by means of .a brush or a gun with a cut out mask or else by printing in a dry phase under a suitably cut mask with the possible application of an electrostatic field.

The heat treatment may be executed by causing the fabric to pass underneath infrared rays, inside a tunnel kiln or in an oven at temperatures ranging between about and 200 C.

The invention has also for its object the novel article of manufacture constituted by pile fabrics and imitation furs showing shaded off colors as obtained by the method forming the object of the invention.

Hereinafter is disclosed by way of example an embodiment of the improved method according to the invention.

Example There is applied, over a piece of fabric forming an imitation fur and the pile of which is constituted by acrylic fibres of 25 deniers of a white color and of an average length of 70 mm., a suspension in water of dispersed dyestuif projected by a gun. To this end, there is added to one litre of water at 40 C. or thereabouts and incorporating 2 gr. of a dispersing reagent the following dyestuffs under energetic stirring conditions.

Acetoquinone Yellow SJZ (Chemical Index No. 14)- Cibacete Blue F3R (Chemical Index No. 3) 8 Cibacete Brown RBN (a heterogeneous dyestuff having no color index number) 32 Cibacete Red 3B (Chemical Index No. 15) S Acetoquinone Yellow (a product of the French Francolor Cy) is a dyestuff which is energetically diffused while the Brown and the Red are diifused to a medium extent and the Blue diffuses but little (these Cibacetes being products of the Swiss Ciba Cy). Consequently the free end of the pile, will be very dark (brown plus blue). the middle of the fibres will be of .a shaded off reddish brown and the bottom will be slightly colored in yellow, the passage between the different hues being obtained in a gradual manner.

The application of said dyestutf dispersion by means of a gun onto the fabric should be executed through a number of passes so as to make the hues more uniform. The fabric is then caused to dry in a stream of hot air after which the dyestulf is fixed and caused to diffuse under the action of a battery of infra-red lamps of a sufiicient power, of say about to kilowatts per square meter, during one minute. The whole arrangement is then allowed to cool and the dyed fabric is washed in a succession of baths of tepid water at about 30 to C., incorporating a few drops of a dispersing reagent. The imitation fur is then rinsed with pure water and dried in hot air.

A subsequent brushing causes the fibres to return into parallelism and it is then possible to subject the dry imitation fur to be conventional finishing operations.

The embodiment of the improved method described by way of example may obviously be subjected to numerous modifications without widening thereby the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. A method for dyeing pile fabrics to produce a material such as imitation fur, said pile comprising synthetic polymer fibres, consisting essentially in applying to only the free ends of the pile fibers dispersed tdyestuif, and thereafter heating the fabric during a predetermined time at a predetermined temperature Within the thermofixing range for the dyestuif to obtain a migration of the dyestuff along the length of the fibres and thereby ashaded off coloration of the latter.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in applying to the free ends of the pile fibres a pure dyestuff adapted to diffuse along the fibres in a uniform manner.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in applying to the free ends of the pile fibres a mixture of dyestuifs having predetermined speeds of migration and predetermined maximum diffusion distances.

4.'A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in applying the dyestuif in a wet phase.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in applying the dyestutf in a dry phase by sprinkling it over the free ends of the pile fibres.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in applying the dyestuff uniformly throughout the extent of the fabric.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in applying the dyestuff selectively over fractions of the fabric.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 consisting in executing the heating step at a temperature ranging between about and 200 C.

9. As a novel article of manufacture, a pile fabric, chiefly an imitation fur including fibers showing a longitudinally shaded off coloration.

10. A novel article of manufacture as claimed in claim 9, wherein the shaded 01f coloration passes gradually through diiferent hues.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which said synthetic polymer is selected from the class consisting of polyester, polyacrylonitrile, polyamide, cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, vinyl polymer and vinyl-acrylic copolymer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,118,723 1/1964 Harding 814 3,181,749 5/ 1965 Helliwell et al. 8-55 2,816,811 12/1957 Tillet et al. 814

NORMAN G. TORCHIN, Primary Examiner J. E. CALLAGHAN, Assistant Examiner 

